Lesson plan
Nitrate test
A nitrate test is a chemical test used to determine the presence of nitrate ion in a solution. Testing for the presence of nitrate via wet chemistry is generally difficult compared with testing for other anions because most nitrates are soluble in water. In contrast, many common ions give insoluble salts, e.g. halides precipitate with silver, and sulfate precipitate with barium. The nitrate anion is an oxidizer, and many tests for the nitrate anion are based on this property. However, other oxidants present in the analyte may interfere and give erroneous results. Nitrate can also be detected by first reducing it to the more reactive nitrite ion and using one of many nitrite tests.
Article summary
A nitrate test is a chemical test used to determine the presence of nitrate ion in a solution. Testing for the presence of nitrate via wet chemistry is generally difficult compared with testing for other anions because most nitrates are soluble in water. In contrast, many common ions give insoluble salts, e.g. halides precipitate with silver, and sulfate precipitate with barium. The nitrate anion is an oxidizer, and many tests for the nitrate anion are based on this property. However, other oxidants present in the analyte may interfere and give erroneous results. Nitrate can also be detected by first reducing it to the more reactive nitrite ion and using one of many nitrite tests.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.